Freight load brace



1950 R. J. BILDHAUER 2,514,466

FREIGHT LOAD BRACE Filed April 25, 1947 uws/vroe. 005507 J 5/1 DA/AZ/H? 5 I Patented July 11, 1950 UNITED ST TE PATENT f EII 7 2,514,466 FREIGHT LOAD BRACE Robert J. .Bildhauer, Pittsburgh, Pa. Application April 25, 1947, Serial No. 743,952 r i This invention relates; generally to portable bulkheads. and more particularly to freight load braces for use in railway freight cars to prevent the displacement or shifting of the merchandise intransit.. H

v.The principal object of this invention is the provision of a railway. freight load brace that is laterally adjustable so as tobe adaptable for use in freight cars of varyingwidth. I Another object is the provision of a railway car freight load brace adapted for adjustment to extend from one side wall of the car to the other to enable itto bereadily secured to the car to prevent the shifting of merchandise in transit and to be easily removed at the end of the trip.

A further object islthe .provision of a portable bulkhead that may be used repeatedly and which will withstand abuse in service.

Another ,object is theprovision of a portable bulkhead which is simple in construction, economical to manufacture, and is readily applied and removed from service.

Other objects and advantages appear hereinafter'in the following description and claim.

A practical embodiment illustrating :theprinciples of this invention is shown in the. accompanying drawing wherein:

Fig. 1 is a view in front elevation illustrating the structure of the bulkhead'comprising' this invention. I

v Fig. 2 is a view in side elevation of the structure 'showninFi'g. l.

- Fig. 3 is a plan view of thestructurezsli'own in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged detailed view showing the angularly disposed brace pivotally secured to the center of the bulkhead.

Referring to the drawings the bulkhead comprising this invention is made up of a plurality of angle irons or posts I, 2, and 3. In practice these angle irons are preferably made from threequarter inch steel with two inch flanges. A series of tubes 4, 5, 6, l, and 8 have their ends welded to the angle iron I in uniform spaced relation as illustrated in Fig. 1 to form a series of rails.

These tubes or rails are preferably made from standard pipe an inch and a quarter inside diameter and their left ends are welded to the inner faces of the flanges l and l I of the angle iron I.

Each of these tubes or rails is also welded to the outer face of the flange I3 of the angle iron 2 in uniform spaced relation as illustrated in Fig. 1 for the purpose of providing a bulkhead structure having vertical angle iron posts I and 2 and a series of horizontal tubular rails, tubular rails 1 Claim. (Cl. -369) 4 to a being welded to t e vertical angle iron post 2 to position the latter a little greater thanonee half the distance of the lengthof these railsfrorn the vertical post l; v

A vertical angle iron end post 3 has also welded to itsinner flange facesa series of horizontal rails i4, l5, l6, ll, and I8. These rails are uniformly spaced along the length of the post 3 so that they may be concentrically aligned with their respective corresponding rails 4 to 8. The rails l4 to I8 are welded to the. inner faces of the flanges l9 and 20 of the post 3 and are preferablyjcon-j structed of standard pipe approximately one inch inside diameter so that they may telescope within the ends of the rails 4-t0 B as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, thus providing a section on the end of the bulkhead which is movable longitudinally of the rails for the purpose of being expanded or contracted to engage the side walls'of a freight car. I 1 I The rails to I8 are preferablytelescopedso that theirfreeends extend within their corree sponding rails, 4 to 8, to the position indicated at 2l-- in-Fig- 3. Whenthe bulkhead is expanded to its greatest dimension in order to prevent the movable bulkhead section from becoming disengaged from the-other portion of the bulkhead a pair of chains 22 and 23- arewelded at one end to the vertical angle iron post 3 and their other ends to adjacent the ends ofthe rails 4 and; respectively. The bottom of thecentrally disposed post-2 ;has its flange l3 turned upwardly and-inwardly as shown at 24 to form a foot which is provided with a hole 25 for receiving a nail or spike to permit the foot to be nailed to the floor of a freight car. The side of a foot 24 may be welded to the flange I2 as indicated at 26 for the purpose of strengthening the foot of this post.

The flanges l0 and 20 of the vertical angle iron end post I and 3 respectively are provided with a series of holes shown at 21 in Figs. 1 and 2 some of which are placed closely adjacent the horizontal rails indicated by dotted lines. The holes 21 should not be placed too close to the horizontal rails as they would tend to make it dlfiicult to insert and withdraw nails through these holes in the posts from the sides of the freight car.

At approximately three fourths of the distance up the center angle iron post 2 a ring or ball 28 is welded to the flange I2 as illustrated in Fig. 4. Prior to welding the ring 28 in place, it is inserted through the hole 29 of the projecting portion of the vertical flange 30 of the angle brace 3| which is made up of a material similar to that of the post I and is provided with the flanges 30 and 32. The lower end of the flange 32 is provided with an extension or foot 33 disposed at an angle to the flange 32' and provided with a hole 34 for receiving a spike to permit the foot of the brace member 3| to be nailed to the floor of a freight car.

It is preferable to employ double-headed nails wherein two heads are formed in. tandem on the nail or spike which permits the latter to be driven through the holes provided in the angle iron members of this bulkhead but limits the extent to which these nails may be driven and still provides a head readily adaptable to be used. for

removing the nails by means of a claw hammer.

When the merchandise is being placed in a freight car it is ordinarily stored. against the end of the car and is maintained substantially uniform across the car When the whole of the shipment of merchandise has been placed in the car the bulkhead comp'risingthis invention is collapsed and set into the car against the merchanclise. The vertical post I is first nailed to the left side of the car. The bulkhead is then expanded to permit the vertical post 3 to engage the right side of the car and it is then nailed in place. The foot 24 of the center post 2 is then nailed to the floor and the lower end of the brace 3 lis forced towards the merchandise to take up any tendency for the bulkhead to bulge in the center and its foot 33 is then nailed to the floor. Thus, by nailing 4 members directly to the floor and side walls of the freight car a very strong and relatively light bulkhead is provided to properly brace the merchandise within the car and all that is necessary to remove the bulkhead is the use of aclawhammer to remove the double-headed nails.

' Themultiple nailing of the vertical end post together with the angular brace provides a very strong structure for shoring the merchandise. It has been found in practice that this bulkhead does not lend itself to anyother'use as does the ordinary bulkhead made of lumber which frequently finds its way to a fire for warming workers during cold weather or for other uses which cause them to be improperly removed from their intended use. It has also been found that the tubular rail structure in combination with the angular vertical post structure provides a very rigid shoring device that will withstand material impact without destruction. Blocks have been-employed to hold the posts-in position but it has been found to be far better to nail the angle members directly to the walls and floor.

I claim:

A brace for retaining freight articles in one end of a vehicle having floor, side and end walls consisting of two telescoping units, one unit composed of a vertical angle end post, a series of spaced horizontal tubular rails with their ends set against one flange and engaging the other flange of the angle end post and permanently secured thereto, an intermediate post permanently secured to each of said tubular rails intermediate of their ends, the other unit composed of a second vertical angle end post and a second their ends set against one flange and engaging the other flange of the angle of said second end post'and permanently secured thereto, the size of the rails of the second series being selected to telescope within the tubular rails of the first series toeomplete the brace and adjustably position the end posts against the side walls of the vehicle, means defining a series of openings in one flange of each end post to receive fasteningmeans to temporarily secure the end posts to the side walls for substantially the full length of said pests, and a support member extending rearwardly of and pivotally connected to the intermediate post' and extending to the floor, and foot flanges on the bottom of said intermediate post and the bottom ofr said rearwardly extending support member to receive securing means for fastening the foot flanges. to the floor of the vehicle. ROBERT J. BEDHAUER.

REFERENCES. CITED The following references are of record inthe file of this patent:

UNITED STATES'PATENTS Number Name Date 1,015,397, Posson l Jan.-23, 1912 1,336,892 Crane v sAug'. 13, 1920 1,499,229 Laffey June 24, 1924 1,665,439 Brown Apr. 10, 1928 1,707,576 Shubert Apr. 2, 1929 1,984,001 Tanze'r et al. Dem-11, 1934 2,166,918 McMullen et a1. July 18,1939 2,226,323" Frear. Dec. 24,1940 2,268,394 Hebert Dec. 30, 1941 2,411,768: Welch r- Nov. 26,1946 

